A pre-trial hearing to decide if there is enough evidence to convict Bosco Ntaganda of crimes against humanity, commenced at the International Criminal Court earlier today.
Ntaganda, a former commander with the M23 rebel organisation, faces 18 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Fatou Bensouda, Chief Prosecutor at the ICC told the hearing,
"He played a key role in planning assaults against the civilian population in order to gain territory… He persecuted civilians on ethnic grounds, through deliberate attacks, forced displacement, murder, rape, sexual enslavement and pillaging."
She went on to add he had “failed to prevent or punish crimes by troops under his effective command or control".
See more from the Guardian here.
However Ntaganda’s defence lawyer argued that he had "chosen to appear before the court because he has faith in the judicial process" and that,
"He is confident that the chamber will see beyond the caricature presented to you by the prosecution."
See more from the BBC here.